This dead simple recipe for a “condiment” or “sauce” for noodles and other dishes caught my interest at the same time as experimenting with Momofuku’s fried chicken. I figured that mixing this aromatic and flavorful sauce along with some egg noodles would make a perfect dish to serve along with the chicken. The sauce is made up of LOTS and LOTS of chopped scallions or green onions the size of your little finger, minced ginger, oil, soy sauce, vinegar and salt. That’s it.

I mixed it into some egg noodles and… (?) Huh? What gives. No epiphanies. Not even a “hmmm”. It lacked flavor, (so I added more of it to no avail, and suddenly it had a weird aftertaste. I think this has to do with our local green onions that can have an off taste of sorts, not the clean zip of North American scallions as called for in the recipe. And maybe the noodles weren’t right either. At any rate, this was a huge bust in my and the crew’s opinion, a serious dissapointment compared to the great fried chicken…

Maybe next time, I’ll try some cold sesame or peanut sauce noodles instead. Not everything turns out great in the MM household. :(

COMMENTS:

I like the brown bowl in the last photo–is it Japanese ceramic? Maybe Soba or Korean noodles will make a difference?

Aug 23, 2011 | 7:48 am

ami
says:

If you add more soy sauce, it sounds like a good dipping sauce to grilled sukiyaki beef.

Aug 23, 2011 | 8:50 am

eej
says:

I think the noodles need some meat and color for some added punch and better taste.

Aug 23, 2011 | 9:11 am

Gerry
says:

Sesame oil maybe?

Aug 23, 2011 | 9:46 am

Lester G
says:

I’m just curious, what kind of Asian scallion variety did you use?

Aug 23, 2011 | 9:49 am

GayeN
says:

Hi MM. Did you just mix the pre-cooked egg noodles with the scallion sauce? What egg noodles did you use? If this is a bust, I bet mixing the scallion sauce with instant noodles would make for a great instant pansit canton. :)

MM…my lazy day way of making hubby’s and boys’ late night noodles…BULL’S brand of barbecue sauce ( a staple at our house as well as CHEE HOU sauce)…a few tbsp. of each plus a dab of sesame oil. ….added to wide egg noodle, topped with sesame seeds and slivers of green onion….always hits the spot!

Aug 23, 2011 | 10:25 am

muzzy
says:

Try the japanese long onions if they’re available. if you have to make do with the scallions, let them soak in water beforehand. stick to the green parts also. the white section has the sharpest taste. and slice them as thinly as possible.

good egg noodles are more important, i think. the ones in the photo look kind of limp (actually, they don’t even look like real egg noodles). if you make your own, put extra egg white in it. that should give it more bounce. or if you can get your hands on kansui ( i bet lye water is more readily available there), that will work even better although not as ‘natural’ as using egg whites. put the noodles in an ice bath right after you cook them, same way as you would prepare hiyashi chuka.

if you have to work with the noodles you have pictured, try steaming them first until they turn golden brown. you can store this for quite a while and just boil some when you need them. you don’t need to boil them as long as if they were ‘raw’. this technique, if you’re using good stuff, usually results in noodles with a subtle, nutty taste. it’s ideal for yakisoba, which i think would complement your zubuchon menu better; throw some lechon in there, your choice of vegetables, your acharra stuff, some salt, kosho, shoga, a splash of mirin, and you’re good to go.

a dash of rice wine, sesame oil, vinegar soy sauce and lots of scallions. this should do the trick

Aug 23, 2011 | 12:24 pm

Mimi
says:

The ingredients sound like the one I use with pouring smoking hot oil over steamed fish. Maybe prepare the scallions and ginger, season with salt and pinch of sugar, then heat the required oil until smoking hot, pour. Then add the other wet ingredients.

How ’bout GRILLING the green onions first till they look charred…when tossed with the noodles, it will impart a smoky flavour!

Talk about onions, Kurzhaar…I experimented with planting my onion transplants this June instead of the usual spring planting. I must say that the ones I planted in late June are doing much better than the spring planted ones other gardeners planted….no onion blight (knock on wood! and other fungal diseases on my onions plants!

Aug 23, 2011 | 1:18 pm

MP
says:

Hi Bettyq, is Bull a Canadian brand? I just came from the supermarket frequented by expats as they carry a lot of imported stuff but couldn’t find Bull’s BBQ sauce. My hubby loves noodles so I want to try your ‘lazy day’ noodle recipe…

Anyhow, are you and ConnieC still meeting in Cebu during the holidays? Any plans for an eyeball?I am not sure if you read my, Cumin and Terry’s comments (aspirations) about joining (if you and ConnieC don’t mind)?

I agree with Gerry and Junb – a little sesame oil might make all the difference.

Aug 23, 2011 | 7:40 pm

EbbaBlue
says:

Ms BettyQ, I do have everything you’ve mentioned except the Chee Hou sauce; will look for it in the vietnamese market here.

MM, I agree with the others, the kind of egg noodles and the scallion will make a difference with this dish.

Aug 23, 2011 | 7:56 pm

FoodJunkie
says:

This condiment comes with the Hainanese chicken rice meal I usually order for lunch. Mostly made up of scallions, grated ginger, peanut oil (or any other neutral oil) , salt and some hint of sesame oil. No soy sauce and vinegar and they only use the green part of the scallion.

Aug 23, 2011 | 8:51 pm

atbnorge
says:

It needs meat! I think prawns will be nice with the noodles.

Aug 23, 2011 | 8:59 pm

Footloose
says:

Agree with Foodjunkie, this is the sauce for Hainanese chicken. And agree with Abnorge too, it needs meat, chicken meat and rice cooked in chicken broth or if you insist on the noodle, it should be floating in the chicken broth.

MP… Bull’s brand …not a Canadian brand. The contents of the can is what they use here as one of the dipping sauces used in hot pot joints! I now use a few tbsp. of that and add it in my XO sauce when I make it. It gives my XO the umami I was searching for and comes in a gray can. I know the name …BARBECUE SAUCE seems misleading for the contents is NOT barbecue sauce as we know it! It has ground up dried fish, garlic, onions, spices, etc. and tasted like ground up XO!

If you cannot find it, send me your address via e-mail and I will mail it to you.

Ebba..Chee Hou…really good added to beef brisket with some hoisin….try making the Taiwanese or Chinese beef noodle soup using beef brisket.

MP and Ebba….remember, I am making 4 servings sometimes enough for 6 people though only 3 people are eating them for they always ask for seconds ….so for only 2 servings, go easy on the Chee Hou and Bull’s barbecue sauce!

MP…my APOLOGIES! Maybe you couldn’t find it for the brand is BULL HEAD not Bull’s! I just checked the can! it is made in Taiwan! At any rate, if your Asian store does not stock it, I will be more than happy to mail a can to you!

Aug 23, 2011 | 11:32 pm

MP
says:

Bettyq, I am so amazed with how generous you are (though not at all surprised considering how selflessly you’ve shared your culinary tips with us)! Thank you for the offer of mailing a can of Bull Head but it will be too costly (they will levy tax on both the sender and receiver!)… I will be in NY sometime in Oct and will look for it (and Chee Hou) in one of the Asian stores there. After my hubby tasted the dimsum I prepared using your recipe he keeps asking me to try any of your recipes so I wanted to try this “lazy noodle meal” of yours! Again, thank you very, very much for the offer.

Aug 24, 2011 | 2:14 am

EbbaBlue
says:

Yes Ms. Betty, MP is correct, you are always so generous… way – way – kind to share us supplies/ingredients, actual food, and tips & recipes. I’ll go shop at our Chinese/ Vietnamese Market belt here and I am pretty sure that I will find ingredient you mentioned. I will then cook the noodles as per your recipe. Ummmmm…. Natatakaw na ako. And thanks for clearing the Bull Head sauce – akala ko kasi Bull’s head Texas Barbecue yon eh.

Aug 24, 2011 | 3:11 am

wisdom tooth
says:

Hi Ms Betty q, I was just going to email you re other uses for this bbq sauce as I found a gray can with chinese characters that also says “bbq sauce”. Galing mong magtiyempo. And, I am still waiting for the items you sent. I hope hindi ako naunahan ng mga sniffing dogs sa checkpoint. BTW, I added this to you XO sauce. Yummm. Thanks for all your tips! Will also try your “lazy day way of late night noodles” habang may bbq sauce pa…

Aug 24, 2011 | 4:06 am

jakbkk
says:

you can try adding a bit of oyster sauce instead of soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil aside from sesame seeds.

Dear MM, we served this exact recipe in the restaurant where I used to work for, and sad to say, it yielded the same results. I didn’t like it so much myself. It was just blaaaaahhhh (bland, to say the least). I even tried adding more salt to no avail. I don’t think it’s your kitchen’s fault as much as it is the recipe’s sense of wanting.

Aug 25, 2011 | 10:31 am

PITS, MANILA
says:

I TRIED TOASTED GARLIC WITH A FEW DROPS OF SOY SAUCE, IT’S GOOD. AND ALONG WITH CRISPY BACK-FAT OR CRISPY TAMPALEN … SOUNDS LIKE MAMI-HENG … AND MAYBE SOME OF YOUR SCALLION SAUCE …

I made this scallion sauce just last Sunday. It was a little on the bland side if you only use it alone. But it was just right (for me) as I partnered it with duck that i made ala “soy chicken” which is quite flavorful.
This is what I did..
I searched and used the authentic ingredients that I could find here. Even went to Chinatown but later found out that sherry wine vinegar is a Spanish product. Anyway, they can be found in the supermarket.
I prepared the sauce a day before, refrigerated, to let the ginger and scallions flavor the oil.
I panfried some prawns in butter, garlic with a dash of salt. Added that and then made extra sauce of light soy sauce, sherry wine vinegar, pinch of sugar and a dallop of the scallion sauce on the side for those who wanted more flavor.